Abstract: Objective:To analyze the clinical effect of VATS and conventional thoracotomy for esophageal cancer. Method:116 patients with esophageal cancer in our hospital were selected and randomly divided into two groups, 58 cases each group. The control group adopted the conventional thoracotomy and experimental group adopted VATS. The hospitalization conditions and postoperative complications of two groups were compared. Result:The operation time of experimental group was significantly longer than that of control group (P＜0.05); The time of surgical drainage, average length of stay and bleeding volume of experimental group was significantly better than that of control group (P＜0.05); the incidence rate of postoperative complications of experimental group (6.9%) was significantly lower than that of control group (20.7%)(P＜0.05).Conclusion: Compared with conventional thoracotomy, VATS has a better effect in esophageal cancer. It is featured as shorter lengthen of stay, faster recovery, fewer bleeding volume and lower incidence rate of postoperative complications. It has promoted the postoperative recovery and improved the patients’ lives and physical and mental health. It shall be applied in clinical practices.

Key words: VATS, Conventional Thoracotomy, Esophageal Cancer, Effect Comparison